How to Draw a Dog

Drawing a dog is easier than you may think. Once you break the process down into some basic steps and follow the instructions, you'll see your drawing take shape before your eyes.

Begin by drawing three ovals.

1. Draw the largest egg-shaped oval in the center of the page, and point the small end toward the right. This will become the chest/main part of the body.
2. Draw the next smaller oval vertically, placed a small distance away and to the right of the chest oval.
3. For placement of the head, draw the smallest oval a short distance above the chest oval and slightly to the left.

To begin shaping the head:

1. Add a somewhat downward-pointing oval on the left side of the head for the muzzle. Center this oval over the left part of the outline of the head.
2. Add an almond shape for an eye. Center this shape over the oval drawn for the muzzle, inside the head shape.

Now it's time to create details on the dog's head.

1. Add a downward-pointing, rounded triangle for an ear. Use your creativity; if you would like your dog to have pointed ears, add these shapes pointing upward at the top of the head.
2. Make a strong, straight line across the top of the eye.
3. Create a diamond shape for the nose, and add a curve for the chin and a darkened teardrop shape to the right of the chin to indicate the lower jowl.
4. Add the neck by drawing curved lines that connect the head and body.

Now it's time create more details that will bring your drawing to life.

1. Draw a curve inside the eye area to create the appearance of an eyeball.
2. Add a dark, round pupil, but leave a small white spot for reflected light to add realism to your drawing.
3. Next, add a nostril and darken the nose.

To create legs and feet:

1. Draw a long, vertical oval close to the front of the body for the dog's foreground shoulder.
2. Draw several circles to place the leg joints and feet. Notice the distance between the feet and the closest leg joint on the hind legs is much longer than on the front feet.

Your dog is almost complete.

1. Join the leg joints and feet by drawing curved lines between them.
2. Join the hindquarters to the body in the same way, and add a tail.

Add more realism to your drawing by shading different areas of the dog and adding fur.

1. Begin lightly erasing some of the original sketch lines so they aren't so prominent, and then start covering them over with fur lines.
2. Fur can be shown through long or short lines, depending on which type of fur you want the dog to have. You can also add a shaggy coat and tail by creating jagged lines.
3. Place curved lines on the feet to create toes.
4. Add a little shading to the dog's underbelly, under the tail, and around the muzzle and ear.
5. Add some shading beneath the dog to create a natural shadow area on the ground.

See how easy that was? Now that you know the basic steps to drawing a dog, you can practice them until your dog looks just the way you want it to. You can also learn how to draw a dragon, a person, and more just by following similar steps to those used here. So start drawing and have some fun!